MSGID: 1:317/3 62720178   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Brain networks can play role in weight-loss success    
      
     Date:   
         May 3, 2022   
     Source:   
         Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center   
     Summary:   
         When it comes to weight loss, the old adage it's all in your head   
         may be true. Scientists have shown that two specific networks in   
         the brain can strongly influence how successful a person will be   
         when trying to lose weight.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
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   When it comes to weight loss, the old adage it's all in your head may   
   be true.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have shown that   
   two specific networks in the brain can strongly influence how successful   
   a person will be when trying to lose weight.   
      
   These findings, published in the April edition of the journal Obesity,   
   may ultimately help in developing tailored behavior-based treatments   
   that target specific brain circuitry to aid in weight loss, according   
   to the study's principal investigator Dr. Jonathan Burdette, professor   
   of radiology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.   
      
   The goal of this study was to determine whether the degree of weight   
   loss after six months of a behavior-based intervention was related to   
   connectivity within two functional networks (FNs), FN1 and FN2, in a   
   group of older adults with obesity. Functional brain networks are areas   
   of the brain that are working together in sync.   
      
   FN1 and FN2 were first identified by Burdette and his team in 2018 as   
   being involved in successful weight loss.   
      
   In this study, 71 participants enrolled in a randomized weight-loss   
   clinical trial were scanned at the beginning of the trial with functional   
   magnetic resonance imaging to determine if FN1 and FN2 would be predictive   
   of weight loss and if so how. Participants were scanned during a resting   
   state and then again after receiving a food-cue task. At the end of the   
   six-month trial, the data were then analyzed to compare the relationships   
   between the baseline networks and the change in the participants' weight.   
      
   Burdette's team found that during the resting state the relationship   
   of brain function in FN1, which involves sensory and motor skills, was   
   significantly associated with six-month weight loss. During the food-cue   
   state, six-month weight loss was significantly associated with FN2,   
   which includes self- regulation and the ability to focus attention.   
      
   Two distinct brain network biases are related to the degree of success   
   with weight loss: within the resting state, there is a sensory motor   
   motivational bias to pursue food, whereas when processing food cues,   
   there is a deficit in the executive control and attention network.   
      
   "These findings show that the brain network properties of people who   
   were less successful at weight loss were different from folks who were   
   more successful," Burdette said. "Some people have a stronger unconscious   
   sensory motor bias to pursue food, while others appear to have less. In   
   a society of food abundance with food cues everywhere, this information   
   can help explain why some people have such difficulty in taking off   
   excess weight and maintaining it."  This is the first study to link key   
   concepts that have been identified as important in understanding obesity   
   and overeating to success with behavioral weight loss among older adults   
   with obesity.   
      
   "Our findings provide further insight into complex functional circuits   
   in the brain so we now have a mechanistic understanding of why people   
   aren't losing weight," Burdette said. "In theory, if you know more about   
   urges and control, we will be able to tailor therapies to an individual   
   as opposed to treating everyone the same."  Funding for the study was   
   provided by the Institute on Aging (R01AG051624- 03S2); the National   
   Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R18 HL076441); the National Institute   
   on Aging (P30 AG021332), the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging   
   and Bioengineering (R01EB024559), and the Wake Forest Clinical and   
   Translational Science Institute (UL1TR001420).   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Wake_Forest_Baptist_Medical_Center. Note: Content may be edited for   
   style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jonathan H. Burdette, Mohsen Bahrami, Paul J. Laurienti, Sean   
      L. Simpson,   
         Barbara J. Nicklas, Jason Fanning, W. Jack Rejeski. Longitudinal   
         relationship of baseline functional brain networks with intentional   
         weight loss in older adults. Obesity, 2022; 30 (4): 902 DOI:   
         10.1002/ oby.23396   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141329.htm   
      
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